As president, Teman Knight wanted the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference to encourage participants and remind them they’re not in ministry alone. That’s why this year’s conference theme was “Together,” and it’s a concept that was embraced — both figuratively and literally.
As the conference came to a close Nov. 14, pastors under the age of 40 gathered at the altar of Heritage Baptist Church, Montgomery, to be prayed over by their fellow pastors. It was a clear picture of the “two are better than one” (Eccles. 4:9–10) model that Knight, pastor of Heritage Baptist, fervently wanted the conference to embody.
Rob Jackson kicked off the day with an old adage: “Big oaks from little acorns grow.”
This is true on earth and in the spiritual things, said Jackson, pastor of Central Baptist Church, Decatur, drawing from Galatians 6:6–8 where Paul reminds readers that “a man reaps what he sows” (v. 7).
While this is true for all believers, it’s a vital truth to remember as pastors, Jackson said, emphasizing three areas where pastors must be diligent in sowing seeds. Pastors must plant seeds of faith, disciple making and unity, standing on the Word of God to guide and lead their congregants, he said.
“Every one of us must work together. We must be faithful in doing good,” Jackson said, noting that was especially true in the small things. After all, “big oaks from little acorns grow,” he said.
Bob Pitman, of Bob Pitman Ministries, also urged unity, telling conference participants, “There are a lot of things that would divide our togetherness but the one common bond, the one common uniting person, is Jesus Christ.”
In this world there are a lot of things to divide us, Pitman said, but Christ is so much bigger than any divisive element the world throws at us.
Referencing Luke 4:14–30, Pitman spoke about the time Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth. While there, Jesus did three things: He made the “unmistakable declaration” that He was the Messiah; He spoke an “undeniable revelation” where He revealed what the crowd was thinking and what was in their hearts; and He departed from them in an “unexplainable separation,” escaping a hostile crowd by simply passing through their midst.
“How did that happen?” Pitman asked.
“I don’t know,” he said to a chuckling crowd, closing with the challenge to participants to “talk [to others] about the source of our togetherness — Jesus.”
During the afternoon session, Waylon Bailey encouraged participants amid the changing culture.
“The Church has changed since I was called to preach at 17,” said Bailey, pastor of First Baptist Church, Covington, Louisiana. “The attitude toward Church has changed. Everything we do is different now.”
He noted the generational differences today, from the gospel-loving baby boomers to the less-open-to-the-gospel millennials, the “least evangelized of any group.”
But just because millennials are not as open to the gospel as previous generations, “it’s not hopeless now,” Bailey said.
In 2 Timothy 1, Paul was withstanding hardships but he had “not forgotten who the Lord is,” Bailey said. The change we see today is “not hopeless because of the power that we have within us.”
So in the midst of difficult ministry days what can a pastor do?
“We have to get ready by emphasizing repentance,” Bailey said. “We have to get ready to give an answer and to give help. We have to be ready by working together, lifting one another up, encouraging one another and picking up those who fall.”
It might be different, or even harder, now — but it’s not hopeless, he said.
Kevin Wilburn said hardship is nothing new for Christ-followers. The Bible is filled with examples of seemingly hopeless situations that God works through — like how Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, in Genesis 22 because God told him to.
But thankfully Abraham and Isaac walked together up Mount Moriah and walked back down together.
Wilburn, vice president for advancement at the University of Mobile, said the pair only “walked together … after these things” took place.
‘These things’
“That makes you and I ask, ‘What are these things?’ In ministry you know things will happen,” Wilburn said. “Abraham had experienced … relocation, sorrow, deception and failure.”
Abraham most certainly had a vision for how he thought things would turn out in his life, just like we so often do now, he said. But Abraham was serious about following God’s plan over his personal vision.
“Is it possible that the vision in your life has become more important than the God that put the vision in you?” Wilburn asked participants.
With God working His good plan in and through our lives, Wilburn said, “we better be ready … because testing is going to come. And Alabama Baptists, you better walk together.”
Not only should Alabama Baptists walk arm in arm with one another but also with fellow Southern Baptists around the world, said Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Kelley gave participants a “satellite look” at what’s happening in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) with the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:19 mandates believers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Unfortunately the “stunning” reality, according to Kelley’s research, is that while the number of SBC-affiliated churches has grown, baptisms have lessened. What does this mean for the SBC?
It means “the world is doing a better job of pulling our people out of churches than we are doing of pulling lost people out of sin,” which has led to Southern Baptists quickly becoming a “shrinking presence with a diminishing voice in our nation.”
The convention-wide issue, Kelley said, is Southern Baptists not making disciples of their local communities. And how the SBC improves the Great Commission health of its churches is a life-or-death issue for the convention, he said.
So what’s the way forward? Owning the problem, living distinctly within the culture, seeking gospel conversations outside the walls of the church and seeking spiritual awakening, Kelley said.
“I need you to know how high the stakes are if we will not seek God’s stirring. … I am a man of immense hope because … I know what God can do and I have no doubt in that and I know of His ability to work even in these circumstances,” Kelley encouraged participants.
The power of God can make a difference in the lives of friends and neighbors — if Christians will share Him with others, said Mike Satterfield, founder of Field of Grace Ministries.
We serve a risen Savior, Satterfield said, and He is no longer in the grave. But instead of the truth of our living God being an uncontainable exclamation, we too often treat it like the best-kept secret in our lives, he said.
“The Bible has told me the best-kept secret in town and I can’t keep it to myself because secrets are hard to keep. And I refuse to keep this secret.”
It’s about more than just going to church — it’s about being the Church, Satterfield said. What does that mean for Christians?
“We have to believe it, receive it and spread it,” he said, adding that before you share who God is with the rest of the world you have to share Him at home.
God can overcome anything the world hurls your way, Satterfield said. “You ought not be walking in death sentences when we have a life-giving message.”
Camo gear
Sammy Gilbreath concluded the day of inspiration by walking into the sanctuary dressed in his reflective orange and camo gear, rifle over one shoulder.
Gilbreath shared how hunting has helped him understand how God works through his life, moving him from, “I got this,” through “We got this,” and on to “You got this.”
Referencing Luke 4:42–44, Gilbreath said, “He just allows us to come along to be a part of His purpose being fulfilled. You see, we are not alone.
“We’re not in this by ourselves guys,” Gilbreath said. “I’ve learned I no longer got this. It’s not even ‘we got this.’ It is the Lord that’s got this. I’m learning it every day. It’s together. He’s allowing me by the very grace of God to be a part of Him accomplishing His purpose.”
Gilbreath concluded by leading the time of prayer over the pastors gathered at the altar.
“Together, this group can change this state,” he said, praying for the pastors to see a movement of God as they served together.
By Maggie Walsh and Neisha Roberts
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